So.....being a teacher in this time period sure is challenging. Beyond challenging. Sometimes it even feels impossible.  One thing that I am coming to realize over these last few years is the importance of self-care.  Doing one small thing each day for yourself, or others, can do wonders for your mood. This in turn will help your classroom environment to thrive just a little bit more. I created a self-care calendar for teachers and I challenge you to try it for one month to see how much better you feel. Nothing is longer than 30 minutes!  Link to calendar in Google Drive ..read more

I have seen all my friends go through the process of having babies and buying supplies and then by their second baby realize what they actually need to buy. I feel like I have become the expert on what essentials are needed to enter into a classroom sight unseen and be able to teach. Especially if your school does not supply you with any supplies, like many do not. I have decided to compile a list of the items that I think area needed for starting over in a classroom! Color coding I color code all my different groups and classes and it is SOOOOO much easier to differentiate and grade.  ..read more

*Blog was stuck in my draft file and never got published!* So I have been spending my quarantine time watching Tiger King and even THAT can't compete with the craziness that teachers have been facing the last few weeks! With the Corona Virus running rampant, the schools in Virginia (and basically the entire country) have been shut down for the remainder of the school year. This left teachers scrambling to figure out how to educate kids from a distance!  I have started to turn all of my paper resources into digital resources so that I can share them with students across the inter webs ..read more

I was looking for new ways to introduce point of view and I stumbled across a GREAT idea! Using video games! There are tons of video games in different points of view. Halo=First person point of view Mario 64= Second person point of view Tomb Raider=Third person limited point of view The Sims=Third person omniscient point of view A great video overview that I found ..read more

So I teach my students how to write essays using the Step up to Writing method.  In this method, one uses colors to describe the parts of a paragraph.  I start out by giving my kids strips of green, yellow, and red paper.  I then explain to students that the parts of a paragraph are much like that of a stoplight! (Green) Topic Sentence: The topic sentence tells the reader what the paragraph is going to be about (Yellow) Slow down...Detail: fact or key idea about your topic (Red) STOP! Explanation: Explain your detail or fact with figurative language or adjective (Yellow) Slow down...De ..read more